Bulk material cargo containers are conventionally used, at different times, to house or contain different fluid-like or flowable bulk cargo materials, such as, for example, dry bulk chemicals, powdered and pelletized resins, flour, coffee beans, grains, rice, sugar, and the like, while the cargo materials are being shipped or transported from one location to another by means of, for example, bulk material cargo containers incorporated within a ship, truck, railroad train car, and the like. Since different materials are going to be shipped or transported within the bulk material cargo containers at different times, it is imperative that the bulk material cargo containers effectively be clean so as not to contaminate the bulk materials comprising a particular bulk material cargo load with residual bulk materials which may remain within the bulk material cargo container from a previously shipped or transported bulk material cargo load. Accordingly, in order to eliminate the necessary cleaning of each bulk material cargo container hold after a particular bulk material cargo load has been unloaded or discharged from a particular one of the bulk material cargo container holds, it has become conventional within the industry to employ removable bulk material cargo container liners within the cargo holds of the bulk material cargo containers wherein, after a particular bulk material cargo load is delivered to its destination and discharged or un-loaded, the bulk material cargo container liner is simply removed from the bulk material cargo container whereby the bulk material cargo container is again useable, without a significant amount of cleaning, for carrying another bulk material cargo load of fluid-like or flowable material. Examples of bulk container liners as used within bulk material cargo containers for shipping or transporting fluid-like or flowable materials may be found within U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,896 which issued on Aug. 19, 1997 to Matias, U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,563 which issued on Aug. 6, 1996 to Matias, U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,037 which issued on Feb. 6, 1996 to Stopper, U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,476 which issued on Jun. 6, 1995 to Matias, U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,621 which issued on Jun. 29, 1993 to Matias, U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,710 which issued on Mar. 16, 1993 to Podd, Sr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,735 which issued on Oct. 6, 1992 to Podd, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,170 which issued on Aug. 11, 1992 to Matias, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,722 which issued on Dec. 5, 1989 to Podd.
While the noted removable bulk material cargo container liners have obviously performed satisfactorily from an overall point of view in connection with the achievement of their primary objectives as noted hereinbefore, such removable bulk material cargo container liners have exhibited several operational difficulties. For example, due to the various forces or loads which are normally impressed upon the bulk material cargo container liners during, for example, both the bulk material cargo loading operation, as well as the actual transportation or shipping period, the PRIOR ART liners have been subjected to tearing or rupture, as well as deterioration in connection with their proper support within the bulk material cargo container.
More particularly, as may best be appreciated from FIG. 1, the front or nose section of a conventional PRIOR ART bulk material cargo container liner is schematically illustrated and is generally indicated by the reference character 10. The bulk material cargo container liner 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped configuration, and therefore it is apparent that the front or nose section of the bulk material cargo container liner 10 is defined by means of a front wall portion 12, a pair of side wall portions 14, only one of which is visible, a top wall portion 16, and a bottom wall portion, not illustrated. In order to suspendingly support the bulk material cargo container liner 10 within a bulk material cargo container, a double-sided strip of adhesive tape 18 is initially folded over upon itself so as to effectively trap therewithin a woven reinforcement strap, not shown. A pair of grommets 20 are also provided within the laterally spaced end portions of the adhesive tape-woven reinforcement strap assembly, and subsequently, the adhesive tape-woven reinforcement strap assembly is secured to the front or nose section of the bulk material cargo container liner 10 so as to extend horizontally across the bulk material cargo container liner 10 and thereby be able to overlap the upper front edge corner region 22 defined at the juncture of the front wall portion 12 and the top wall portion 16 whereby the adhesive tape-woven reinforcement strap assembly effectively straddles the front and top wall portions 12,16 of the bulk material cargo container liner 10.
In order to operatively connect the bulk material cargo container liner 10 to the interior of the bulk material cargo container, interior side wall portions of the bulk material cargo containers are conventionally provided with suitable support means known in the industry as finger-bars. A problem inherently characteristic of the use of such finger-bar support structures within the bulk material cargo containers, however, resides in the fact that the finger-bar support structures are not positioned at predetermined locations within the interiors of all bulk material cargo containers utilized within the industry. Sometimes, for example, the finger-bar support structures are located at an elevational level which is twelve inches (12.00″) below the upper interior surface of the bulk material cargo container, however, at other times, the finger-bar support structures may be located at elevational levels which are, for example, twenty-two inches (22.00″) below the upper interior surface of the bulk material cargo container or thirty-two inches (32.00″) below the upper interior surface of the bulk material cargo container. Accordingly, when the bulk material cargo container liner 10 is to be secured to the interior of the bulk material cargo container by means of, for example, a plurality of hanger straps, belts, or ropes operatively associated with the grommets 20, installation personnel must in effect estimate or guess the amount of slack that must be provided within the support strapping, belting, or rope in order to permit the bulk material cargo container liner 10 to be properly suspended within the bulk material cargo container as well as subsequently disposed in its inflated condition or state.
Oftentimes, however, such guesses or estimates are incorrect whereby, for example, when the bulk material cargo container liner 10 is inflated, the upper front edge corner region 22 of the bulk material cargo container line 10 will not be properly mated with the upper front edge corner region of the bulk material cargo container. Accordingly, an air space will be defined between the upper front edge corner region 22 of the bulk material cargo container liner 10 and the upper front edge corner region of the bulk material cargo container whereby the various wall portions of the bulk material cargo container will not be able to effectively support the corresponding wall portions of the bulk material cargo container liner 10 which define the upper front edge corner region 22 of the bulk material cargo container liner 10. Consequently, such upper front edge corner region 22 of the bulk material cargo container liner 10 becomes susceptible to the inflation and bulk material cargo loading forces and pressures which tend to cause the bulk material cargo container liner 10 to experience or undergo rupture or failure. Additional failure of the bulk material cargo container liner 10 assembly can also occur as a result of the utilization of the double-sided adhesive tape 18, as the means for attaching the bulk material cargo container liner 10 to the finger-bar structures of the bulk material cargo container by the hanging straps, belts, ropes, or the like, in view of the fact that the adhesive properties of the adhesive tape 18 diminish over time as a result of prevailing or ambient temperature and humidity conditions present within the bulk material cargo container. Still further, the double-sided adhesive tape 18 is relatively expensive which renders the same economically undesirable.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved bulk material cargo container liner, and in particular, for a suspension system operatively associated therewith, which will enable the bulk material cargo container liner to be operatively inflated and suspended within any bulk material cargo container, regardless of the particular disposition or elevational level of its finger-bar support 10 or suspension structure, so as to be capable of proper inflation and suspension of the bulk material cargo container liner within bulk material cargo containers whereby no air space or air bubble will be defined between the upper front edge corner region of the bulk material cargo container liner and the upper front edge corner region of the bulk material cargo container such that the bulk material cargo container liner can properly withstand or resist the inflation and cargo load forces or pressures so as to effectively exhibit enhanced tear or rupture resistance.